- Overview
- Hull
- Gunwales
- Outer Stem
- Bow Tank
- Stern Tank
- Stern Tank
- Stern Tank
- Keel, skeg, glass, outer paint
- Inner finish
- Spars
Thus far, my build has taken the following approximate amounts of time for the various sections, described in the above sections. As I complete more parts of the boat, I'll add more sections. The sections above took the following amounts of time.
|
------| ----------------
Hull stitched and taped | 62 hours
Gunwales & Quarter Knees | 27.75 hours
Outer Stem & Front of Keel | 12.75 hours
Bow Tank & Mast Partner | 27 hours
Stern Tank & Mizzen Step/Partner | 30 hours
Centercase | 19 hours
Thwarts, floors, floorboards | 50 hours
Keel, skeg, glass, outer paint | 39 hours
Inner finish | 39 hours
Spars (incomplete) | 20 hours
Total | 326 hours
There are countless tools that you might use in a project like this, but a few that I don't think are avoidable (i.e., if you don't have access to, you should borrow / buy):
|
------| ----------------
Table Saw | For the gunwales and stringers, there really isn't any other good option (cutting 20mm x 20mm in a 17ft piece is well beyond my ability with a circular saw). Perhaps a nice bandsaw could do it, but I'd be surprised if you had a band saw and not a table saw! Also, if you are going to do a birdsmouth hollow mast, while you can cut the birdsmouth with a router table (assuming you can get ahold of the strips without a table saw...), the table saw makes it really easy (assuming you are doing an 8 sided, 45 degree angle one).
Curved rasp | For cutting the rake into the steps and mizzen partner, if nothing else, I don't think any other tool really can work. It's also useful in trimming things like the breasthook, quarter knees, hatch holes, etc. In theory, sand paper and a dowel could substitute but only if you are very patient.
Jig Saw | I did not use this to cut out panels (I think a small circular saw worked better, cutting more smooth curves), but for cutting out the bulkhead profiles, cutting out hatch holes, and any number of other places where cutting curves was necessary.
Keyhole Saw | For when you are cutting something out with the Jig Saw, but you end up in a place where the body of the Jig Saw prevents it from cutting further. Duckworks sells a nice one. Obviously, the smaller your Jig Saw and the further in advance you plan (i.e., the less things you are cutting once they are epoxied onto the boat), the less you will need this, but I'd be surprised if it never comes up!
Carbide Scraper | If you can avoid the need for this, bravo; but for the rest of us, that miss epoxy drips, this, plus possibly a heat gun (not necessary but for the heavy duty drips, makes it easier), is really helpful.
Hand plane | A small block plane is all that's needed, but it should be a good one. You might be able to get away without one (I built a previous boat using power sanders where planes were called for), but it'll be a pain.
Random orbital sander | Not only is there so much sanding to do to clean up epoxy, but between coats of paint, etc.
Clamps. Lots! | You'll need the most when doing the gunwales, where cheap spring clamps (the bigger 2" ones) will mostly work, though once you are doing the last layer, they won't quite fit, so having at least 15 or more regular clamps will be critical. If you were starting from scratch, 6" or 8" F clamps would probably be the most useful for the build.
And then, the tools that certainly aren't irreplaceable, but that I use all the time.
|
------| ----------------
Shinto Rasp | Probably the most common thing I used this for was knocking off epoxy drips, by using it almost as a sander; at the right angle, it doesn't scrape the wood at all. I also used the tip for cutting chamfers where the router couldn't reach (holding the tip with one hand, the body with another, and running it along at the right angle). And then of course if you need to take off a lot of wood, it's pretty effective, but can do some damage.
Bandsaw | Unsurprising, given the place this typically holds in boat building shops. It's totally unnecessary, as I think I resawed exactly one piece of wood for the boat, and thus all of the cuts that I made could have been made with either the table saw, jig saw, or hand saw, but at the same time, I used it more than all the rest of those combined. Given that nothing in the boat is square, being able to cut at arbitrary angles, into corners, quickly, (relatively) safely, is incredibly useful. I would often free cut and either it was in places where it didn't matter (the joint would be filleted, so small gaps would disappear), or I would cut outside the line and fine tune it with a plane anyway.
Oscillating multi-tool | I mostly use this as a small power sander that can get into places that a normal 5" random orbital can't, but the surprising use was actually the flush cutting, which I've used exclusively to un-epoxy things that I accidentally glued together. Unlike using heat, this doesn't harm any epoxy underneath (like when I didn't anticipate epoxy running down the centerline and gluing a random panel that was laying on it, and I was able to cut it off without damaging the glass tape). A more careful craftsperson may never need this, but that I am not.
As I went along, I documented what I was doing and questions I had. It's a lot less organized than this page, but in case you are curious: Build Thread with Photos